M63
The Stoner 63, also known as the M63, XM22, XM23, XM207 or the Mk 23 Mod 0 machine gun, is an American modular weapons system designed by Eugene Stoner in the early 1960s. Overview The Stoner 63 is an American-made weapon. It was designed in 1963 by Eugene Stoner, the inventor of the M16 rifle. The Stoner 63 was designed to be a modular weapon, able to adapt easily to suit different roles, by flipping the receiver, swapping barrel groups, and switching between a magazine well or a belt-feed tray. It could fill the role of carbine, rifle, designated marksman rifle, squad automatic weapon, light machine gun, crew-served medium machine gun, or mounted medium machine gun. In the rifle and carbine configurations, the Stoner 63 fed from a 30-round detachable box magazine and ejected from the right side. When configured as a SAW, the receiver was flipped over, placing the magazine on top of the weapon and the ejection port on the left side. The machine gun configurations traded the magazine well for a linked-belt feed tray feeding from the right, with the ejection port remaining on the left. The Stoner 63 saw limited use in Vietnam by U.S. Special Operations Forces, mostly Navy SEALs, on a "field trial" basis. The SEALs usually used it in the LMG configuration. It was well-liked by the men who carried it, but was never officially adopted by the U.S. military, which was already spending millions of dollars on the M16 program. Nevertheless, the SEALs held on to their Stoners for almost two decades and even carried a few in Grenada. Usage An M63 was stored in a Dacha-turned relay station by Soviet forces within the Svyatogornyj portion of Tselinoyarsk, and presumably put it on guard. Naked Snake procured one during Operation Snake Eater. In addition, the Ocelot Unit was known to utilize this weapon, using it when ambushing Snake and EVA at Rassvet. Six years later, Snake and his unit procured the Stoner M63 at the harbor of the San Hieronymo Peninsula. In 1974, Big Boss's mercenary group Militaires Sans Frontières managed to procure design specs for the M63A1 during one of their missions outside Costa Rica. The MSF modified it afterwards by shortening the barrel. Behind the scenes In Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, the player can obtain the M63 machine gun in Svyatogornyj East, or in a small weapons building in Groznyj Grad. When Snake fires the M63 for an extended period of time, he will roar a Rambo-style battle cry. In Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops, it can be located in the Harbor. In Metal Gear Solid 3, it fires 5.56x45mm NATO ammunition from a 100-round disintegrating-link belt. The M63 can only be fired in full-automatic mode. It is very heavy, weighing 4.5 kg (9.9 lbs), the second heaviest weapon Snake can carry during Operation Snake Eater after the RPG-7. A conversation with Sigint also results in Snake commenting that it is still, however, much lighter than the M60 machine gun. It takes about 5 seconds to reload. The M63 can only be fired from the hip, making it less accurate than the AK-47 and the XM16E1, but the huge, 100-round belt makes it a good "run and gun" weapon. Despite such poor accuracy, it possesses deadly firepower, able to wipe out entire attack teams and is one of the recommended weapons during the GRU's pursuit of Snake and EVA in Metal Gear Solid 3 (where its poor accuracy is further displayed). Despite being mentioned as being capable of changing parts into a rifle or a carbine, etc., the in-game model is stuck with the LMG role with 100-round box magazine. The Stoner 63 was never widely adopted, never received an M number (beyond the XM22/23/207 for its rifle/carbine/commando configurations), and was succeeded by the M249 SAW. Gallery Armes mgs3 008.gif|M63 in Metal Gear Solid 3. M63.jpg|M63 icon in Metal Gear Solid 3. IMG 0169.JPG|M63 in Portable Ops. M63a1 4-300x170.png|M63A1 Rank 3 (Shortened Barrel). Appearances * Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater * Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops * Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker Category:Assault rifles Category:MGS3 weapons Category:MGSPO weapons Category:MGSPW weapons